


Fashion Show

by uaigneach



Series: We Weren’t Meant to be Heroes [20]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Art, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, F/M, Fluff and Crack, I know that this is unrealistic, gabriel isn't a complete douche?, maybe? - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 03:55:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14741552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uaigneach/pseuds/uaigneach
Summary: Adrien takes Marinette to one of his dad's fashion shows. It actually goes as planned.Mostly.





	Fashion Show

**Author's Note:**

> so this is just a message to the people who know me in person PLEASE STOP READING MY SHIT - IT'S REALLY BAD AND I DON'T WANT Y'ALL STALKING MY FANFIC ACCOUNT  
> to those that are here from notifications (or not) thanks for stopping by  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> I've vilified Hawkmoth to the extreme, but have I done more than imply stuff about Gabriel yet? I can't remember tbh (so I was in a rush and I totally didn't read this over. Sorry for any mistakes!)

“Aya, I really don’t know what I’m going to do! Not only are we going to be wearing these to the school dance, but Adrien has a runway event right after and we won’t realistically have time to change! They have to be perfect.” Marinette groaned as she walked through the aisles of a boutique.

Alya rolled her eyes, “come on! You know Adrien will love anything that you make. Why stress?”

“Because it’s a Gabriel Agreste event?! Wearing an original design by a nobody is a huge power move! I can’t screw it up.” Adrien’s father was going to be there, and she couldn’t afford to be a disappointment. Adrien had insisted that they wear her designs to the school dance and when she brought up the fashion show he planned on taking her to after, he didn’t seem to find anything wrong with it.

It was a Gabriel Agreste fashion show! She can’t wear her own designs! And Adrien _definitely_ cannot! But her partner was adamant that everyone would love her. That only made her freak out more to be perfectly honest. Her design _had_ to be perfect.

She just had no idea where to start.

“Girl, you’ll be fine. You’ve impressed Adrien’s dad before!” Alya was quick to reassure her friend. “You’re an amazing designer. Come on, tell me what ideas you have.” Marinette drooped, dramatically leaning on the display beside her.

“But I don’t even know where to start!” she wailed. “I am pulling a blank.” Alya raised an eyebrow at her and Marinette continued to explain herself. “Honestly, I tried to draw something, but I have absolutely no ideas about what I can do! You have to help me!”

Alya twirled around for a bit, looking around at the various fabrics on the racks around her. “Well, why don’t you design something based on Ladybug? Both you and Adrien look dashing in black and red. I’d say Chat Noir, but while green matches his eyes, you look better in red.” She suggested. While the superhero duo looked good together, the green did clash a little with Ladybug’s overwhelming red. If you ignore eye colour (and the tiny paw print on Chat’s baton) their colours are red and black. Black looks good on anyone, and red flattered Marinette. With careful designing, small accents would look fantastic on Adrien as well.

“That’s actually a pretty good idea! Ladybug and Chat Noir are currently very popular amongst the teen population thanks to the Ladyblog, so it’s not that farfetched that I’d design something inspired by Ladybug.” Marinette admitted, beginning to perk up as she got more and more into the idea. “You’re a genius, Alya.”

Alya preened as Marinette began to search the fabric racks with renewed vigor.

 

* * *

 

When she got back to the bakery, it was to see Adrien curled up on her bed and her mother carefully laying a damp cloth on his head. Figuring that her partner was in good hands with her mother, Marinette headed quietly over to her desk to place the bundles of fabric and delicate accent materials so that she could free her arms. She hurried back over to her mother once she was done. “What happened, Maman?” she asked softly.

Sabine smiled and smoothed out Adrien’s bangs. “The poor dear has a fever. He ran himself into the ground with all of his scheduling, and he passed out while playing football at the park with some of the boys from your class.” Her mother explained. “They brought him here right away. His fever should break in a bit, and with Plagg’s help, he’ll be all better by dinner time.”

“Alright. If you don’t mind, Maman, I’d like to get a head start on my designs. If you could watch Adrien?” At Sabine’s nod of ascent, Marinette walked back over to her desk and pulled out her sketchbook, flipping through the pages to look at all of her other Chat Noir and [Ladybug designs](https://myfanficsfuckingsuck.tumblr.com/post/174191694689/so-just-a-photo-for-my-we-werent-meant-to-be).

This wouldn’t be the first time that she designed something inspired by her miraculous, but it was the first time that she’d be wearing it to something important. Despite what she’d lead Alya to believe, it couldn’t be too obviously themed. It was a fashion show, so it had to be classy, but also not too formal. A 3-piece suit would be overdoing it for the two teens, but she also didn’t want to underdo it. The struggles.

But she was determined now, so one thing was certain; they were going to knock everyone’s socks off.

 

* * *

 

It took her nearly the entire week before the dance to finish, but she was very happy with the end product. The dance was scheduled to happen around mid-morning to the afternoon (odd timing but there were considerably fewer chances of an akuma attack in the mornings even with a school dance) so Adrien spent the night for last finishing touches. Well, that and Marinette was hopeless with makeup and her clothes demanded dramatic makeup for both of them.

[Adrien’s suit](https://bluedove216.tumblr.com/post/174040042449/welp-miraculous-art-i-made-this-for-the-we) was simple; perfectly tailored black slacks and shiny dress shoes with a form-fitting blood red dress shirt. He had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a black suit jacket draped over his shoulder. She’d forgone the tie, instead, leaving a couple buttons undone to show off his collar bones and a small black choker with a little gold bell to hide a small scar. His belt was sort of the accent piece though - the buckle being a red realistically styled ladybug. To go with this ensemble, she’d insisted that he wear winged eyeliner and that he slicked his hair like a Malfoy, except the back of it spiked up a bit; kind of like a peacock but tamer. 

Her own outfit had a bit more flare. She wore a burgundy to red ombre dress with a sweetheart neckline and a high-low ruffled skirt. Two straps came from the sides of her bodice and tied around her neck twice with a bow at the side of her neck twice with a bow at the side of her neck to make a makeshift choker. The neckline was line with black stones traveling down the bodice in a gradient, making the upper parts darker as well as giving it the ladybug spots. There were some small swirls stitched along the edges of the skirt, like Tikki’s antennae. She wore black heels with thin straps around her ankles and a small charm bracelet with 3 tiny ladybug charms. She left her hair down and curled it in a haphazard combination of tight tiny curls and large swooping loose curls. For makeup, Adrien had insisted on a gold and black based smokey eye along with sole lipstick the same shade as the burgundy of her dress. 

She had made a ladybug shaped clutch while Adrien was doing her makeup, and with that, the outfits were done. They looked _good._ She was confident that they would impress.

 

Upon arriving at the dance, they were immediately swarmed by their friends. “Marinette! You look so beautiful! Mylène gasped in awe as she stared up at the detailed stitching along the neckline of her dress.

Marinette beamed at her friend, very grateful that Adrien hadn’t insisted on a full face. Her eyes were already beginning to itch, and her face was so expressive that she’d crack the makeup for sure. “I’m just glad I finished in time,” she confessed as she twirled so that the girls could appreciate the finer details of the skirt. “Adrien’s belt buckle broke last night and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to fix it in time, but I did.”

“I told you that you had nothing to worry about!” Alya crowed as she took in Marinette’s ensemble. “You both look fabulous. If Gabriel Agreste doesn’t like it, then he’s a fool. Also, I love your makeup! Did you finally learn how to do more than apply mascara?”

Of course, Chloe couldn’t resist commenting on that. “Of course she didn’t,” she rolled her eyes. “Clearly Adrien did it for her. We’ve all seen Marinette try to apply foundation – I assume that Adrien helped with your scars too, right?” But even Chloe couldn’t bring down her mood.

“Nope!” she chirped, popping the ‘p’ at the end. “While Adrien did the eye makeup, my scars are small enough that they can be passed off as my clumsiness. My wearing makeup would be more suspicious than a couple small scrapes. I’ve fallen down the stairs more than enough times to have some scars in weird places,” she laughed.

Chloe rolled her eyes, “fair enough, but remember; don’t bring them up unless someone else does. And don’t shy away from answering.” The queen bee lectured.

“I _know,_ Chloe. I’ve been lying for years.” Making sure no one suspected you of being Ladybug when you were one of the only girls with blue hair and pigtails and blue eyes was hard. All the same, her lying could probably still use some work.

“Well forgive me for trying to help!” Chloe huffed exaggeratedly before eyeing the ensemble Marinette wore. “You’ll do. No one will think you look too out of place at the fashion show.” From Chloe, that was a glowing review. She really had been trying to be better, especially after the nurse. Marinette would probably never like Chloe, but she could be civil – if only for Adrien and because Chloe took the first step. Marinette was pretty enough to not even try to be the bigger person.

And so, she left well enough alone and moved on into the gymnasium. The dance was for the first to hours of the morning, but Adrien and Marinette would have to leave half an hour earlier so that Gorilla could drive them to the event. It was in Nice along the Côte D’Azure, so they would have to do last minute touch-ups on the way.

 

(Sabine and Tom would have their satellite phones at the ready in the event there was an akuma or any kind of activity on the Ladyblog. Alya and the others had agreed to watch out as well. The superhero duo hated the idea of leaving Paris undefended, but identify issues.

Sometimes life just doesn’t give you the cards you want. Like a bad roll in a DnD campaign.)

 

The dance itself was pretty fun. The duo had at least one dance with everyone in the class and they gorged themselves on punch and cheap candy. Well, the class did – Marinette was too nervous to stomach more than a snack. And the only reason that she ate anything was that she didn’t want to pass out at the fashion show because she didn’t eat enough. That would be _embarrassing_.

Half an hour in, Marinette completely forgot about her nerves and actually had fun.

That is until they had to go.

Overall, Marinette had improved a lot in gaining a civilian show face. She still got flustered sometimes, but that’s to be expected. Over the years of being Ladybug, she’d gained a quieter confidence as Marinette. Her work was good, and while she remained humble, she wasn’t going to downplay herself anymore. All the same, the most major thing clothing wise that she’d done was win a couple of Gabriel Agreste’s small contests. This would be her debut at a real major league fashion event. AND a world-class model would be wearing her stuff.

There were only attending the show, not participating, so Adrien would be wearing _her_ suit the entire night. Everyone will know that it wasn’t professionally done, and because Adrien is a little piece of shit, he’ll blatantly bring about how she made it. It was _such_ a power move to wear your own designs, not to mention that Adrien (the WELL-KNOWN MODEL) was proudly wearing it too. It was one thing at school when everyone important (ew new classmates) knew why, but Adrien was an Agreste. Everyone expected him to wear and uphold the Agreste brand – not some no-name.

They’d kept their relationship decently under wraps for a while so that reporters wouldn’t bug them. But did Gabriel Agreste know? She was making a very public appearance by his side so the whole world would know now and if he was going to react negatively, then the backlash would be huge.

She was practically vibrating in her seat as Adrien checked over her makeup. “Calm down, everyone will love you!” he assures her.

“But what about your father?” she asked nervously, playing with her clutch where Tikki was hiding along with cookies, cheese, and a satellite phone. Adrien had a pocket for Plagg and his own satellite phone. She would have taken Plagg, but if they got separated things could get messy.

“He’ll be happy I found someone to take over the family business. He knows how much I suck at designs, and not only are you incredibly competent, but you’re no slouch in any other category.” He said confidently. Then the car stopped; they were at the venue. “There, you’re done,” he declared. “Are you ready to face the music?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be, mon Chaton.”

 

* * *

 

They’d arrived exactly 38 minutes before the runway show actually began, so the meet and greet was in full swing but they still had some time to do some networking. They had arrived suitably fashionably late, so everyone wanted a piece of the duo’s time. Adrien had never brought a date before, and now that he had, everyone was shocked. And they were even more shocked at not seeing a celebrity on his arm.

Some people recognized the girl as the designer of the pigeon themed bowler hat and Jagged Stone’s album cover contests. Most people were just staring at the duo’s ensemble though. With all the events of the last couple of years, Ladybug and Chat Noir were a bit controversial. The two heroes had almost become political figures. Having an obviously Ladybug themed ensemble and statement.

Despite the obvious interest in the young couple, Gabriel Agreste managed to be the first one to reach the couple. “Adrien, I see you’ve brought Ms. Dupain-Cheng. How lovely it is to see you,” the designer said politely, bending down to kiss the hand that Marinette had held out for a handshake. In response, she curtsied.

“The pleasure’s all mine, Monsieur Agreste.” She responded in turn not breaking eye contact with the man. He raised one of his perfectly sculpted eyebrows.

“And who are you wearing? I admit that I haven’t seen this particular design.”

Marinette blushed slightly. “It’s my own design, Monsieur; to match Adrien’s suit.” Adrien beamed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, subtly shifting his blazer with the movement to show off the bejeweled belt buckle. Gabriel’s eyes flicker over them, fully taking in the ensemble instead of just a cursory glance.

“A bold move, Ms. Dupain-Cheng,” Gabriel said finally. “But not necessarily a bad one. I understand that my son invited you?” At her nod, he continued. “Well, then I do look forwards to seeing more form you in the future.” And then he turned around and walked away to go speak with other prominent people in the room. Those who had been listening in on the conversation (because of course they were) heard Gabriel’s approved of her and that opened the floodgates. They didn’t have any time to breath between conversations until 5 minutes before the show started and everyone had to take their seats.

Marinette then spent the next half an hour being completely star struck by all of the designs. “Your father’s a genius!” she whispered to Adrien, much to his amusement. While he was a crappy dad, you can’t deny that he’s good at his job. His cold ruthlessness only serving to further him, instead of holding him back.

 

The entire day had been going surprisingly well when exactly 17 minutes before the show was scheduled to end, Nathalie came and got them from their seats. “There’s been a change in the scheduling. Adrien, your father wishes to speak with both you and your… partner backstage immediately.” She informed them briskly as she ushered them through a series of doors.

They didn’t have time to question Nathalie as before they even knew what was happening, they were standing in front of a harried Gabriel Agreste armed with a tablet and a glare that could kill. This was the first time that either of them had seen Gabriel look anything less than perfect.

“Ah yes, Adrien, Ms. Dupain-Cheng.” He greeted, not bothering to look up from his tablet as people rushed around them. “I’m afraid there’s been an unscheduled error in our line up for this evening, and rather than cut the show short, I figured that this would be a lovely time for Ms. Dupain-Cheng to truly debut her work.” Marinette openly gaped at the man, not once caring that she looked stupid.

He’d just told her that he wanted both Adrien and her on his runway in _her designs._ Holy crap!

Gabriel shooed them away and Adrien practically had to drag his starstruck girlfriend over to the other models that were waiting to go on the run way. They were the last in the line – they would be the finale. “Your father will make an announcement as the two of you do your walk, so wait until he starts speaking to go. He has been made aware of the status of your relationship.” Nathalie informed them briskly, tapping away at her own tablet.

Their walk?! Marinette was clumsy! She had no idea how she was meant to do this – was this a joke? Was Gabriel trying to publicly humiliate her? What was happening?

Adrien must have noticed her panic because he leaned down to reassure her. “Calm down, Mari. Just pretend that you’re Ladybug and everything will be fine. I act like a more muted Chat Noir when I model; that’s why I’m so confident.

She giggles softly, slightly more at ease but still visibly nervous. The line between her identities was blurring more and more every day but it was still something that she would have to _do._ She slipped comfortably into the Ladybug mindset and her posture immediately took on a relaxed and poised stature. She could do this.

Beside her, Adrien also slipped into his own cat-like posture. In a flash, they were no longer Marinette and Adrien. Instead, Chat Noir and Ladybug were about to walk down the runway.

And not a moment too soon.

 

“Now for our ensemble this afternoon. I would like to recognize some upcoming talent.” Gabriel’s voice filtered back to them and they silently stepped off to walk down the two separate runways. It was now or never.

Every move was synchronized and elegant. It was like a dance, and if someone were to know the Marinette back from collège, they’d think that the two now currently on the little stage were completely different people.

Nathalie looked like she was sagging in relief.

“My son’s partner; Ms. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She’s won numerous competitions before and was asked to attend this even as a guest. Adrien – like myself – has quite the eye for talent and chose well.” This got a few titters from around the room, but most were too busy staring in awe at the two models’ ensemble. “These Ladybug inspired pieces were made entirely by hand…” he continued to detail things about her designs that he technically shouldn’t know but were surprisingly accurate.

Marinette twirled around, posing for pictures as flashes rung through the crowd. She moved surprisingly gracefully with her heels as she stalked around the stage, basking in the attention. She sort of understood why while Adrien wasn’t crazy about photoshoots, he liked fashion shows. Her kitty did like attention.

Somehow, Adrien had made his way over to where she was smiling for the crowd and together they posed.

Maybe she should drop by one of his photoshoots. This was fun – so they can’t be that bad.

Right?

**Author's Note:**

> The art isn't perfect, but I was really happy with how it turned out! Thanks so much to [bluedov216](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluedove216/pseuds/bluedove216) for volunteering to do this. If you would like to take a crack at it, send me a link to the picture and I'll add it in the story!
> 
> P.S. I'm totally aware of the implausibility of this scenario, please don't comment on the inaccuracies.  
> On another note, the reason I took so long to update was because I was stressing about my DELF and AP French exams. That was hell.
> 
> Also, I lowkey made a tumblr blog for this shitty fanfic account so please drop by [my tumblr ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/myfanficsfuckingsuck)sometime!


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